A Scare at Bedtime was an Irish Urban Legends/Horror show originally broadcast on RTÉ Two (called 'Network 2' at the time). It was created after RTÉ commissioned for something to fill the ten minute gap just before the eleven (at night) o'clock news created by the shortness of the show before.
Each episode concerned the two elderly puppet identical twin brothers Padraig Judas 'Podge' O'Leprocy and Rodraig Spartacus 'Rodge' O'Leprocy who live alone in a creepy old former insane asylum, Ballydung Manor (pictured to the right). Also living with them is an insane old nurse they call 'Granny' who is dating the devil and practicing black magic; and their diseased cat Pox.
It ran for 150 episodes between 1997 and 2006.
A related talk show, hosted by the two brothers, The Podge and Rodge Show, ran between 2006 and 2010.
A Scare at Bedtime provides examples of:
- Abandoned Hospital / Bedlam House: Ballydung Manor, a very old former insane asylum in the middle of nowhere. Perfect for the kind of stories Podge tells, though.
- Anti-Christmas Song: Fester and Ailin sang There's A Dead Man Up The Chimney about them shooting Santa after mistaking him for a burglar.
- Artifact of Doom: Podge tells Rodge of the mythical Golden Arse, which brings doom to anyone who comes into contact with it. Rodge uses it as a bike stand.
- Buried Alive: Henry Madden in 'Lazybones'.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: The pair's disease ridden pet cat Pox who made recurring appearances in the show's first four seasons barely appeared in the fifth season and only made one appearance in the sixth season and two appearances in the seventh season before disappearing for good.
- Darker and Edgier: The character of Podge originated on an Irish RTÉ children's show, The Den. The humour and stories in A Scare at Bedtime are considerably more adult and sex-themed.
- Dirty Old Man: Both though Rodge has a particularly dirty mind, usually interrupting Podge's stories with a reference to something in a sexual nature.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: They originated on an afternoon childrens' show called The Den but got moved to a more adult show for swearing and making innuendos on live TV.
- Eye Scream: One story focused on a guy whose eyesight was suffering due to excessive use of his laptop while on the road. He gets glasses, but finds they fog up during his web surfing, so he gets contact lenses. Unfortunately, he falls asleep on his laptop with them still in. They wind up melted into his eyes.
- Exact Words: One story told of a man who released a genie and asked to have sex with her as one of his wishes. When she notes that she had never had anyone smaller than him, his final wish is the be "hung like a horse". Unfortunately, she's not up on modern slang, so he ends up being hung.
- Flowery Insults: Podge is particularly creative in insulting his brother.Podge: You scuttering arse-ache!
- Hand Puppet: Podge and Rodge.
- Madwoman in the Attic: 'Granny', who also happens to be dating Satan.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: The duo occasionally sing dressed as Fester and Ailin. Parodies of Irish singers, Foster and Allen.
- Our Banshees Are Louder: The episode 'Banshee', unsurprisingly.
- Jerkass: Both of them, though Podge is considerably worse of the two.
- Most of the characters in Podge's stories also count.
- Phone Call from the Dead: Gabby Natter receives one from her dead husband Jim in 'Dead Ringer'.
- Pun-Based Title: Its title is a parody of A Prayer at Bedtime, a religious programme shown at night on sister channel RTÉ One that is about as far away as possible in content to this one.
- Punny Name: Almost all of Podge's characters and their hometowns have humourous, sex-based names. Examples include Cormac McAnus, Proinsias Ní Crotch and Fionnula FitzGibblet.
- Strictly Formula: In each episode, the two brothers are in bed together or at the kitchen table in later series; Podge tells a horror story to warn Rodge off something he had done that day or something with Rodge had mentioned.
- Rodge always interrupts Podge's stories, talking about sex or masturbation.
- Spin-Off: The duo originally appeared as villains on The Den. They eventually got their own talk show.
- Urban Legends: Most of the stories Podge tells are well-known urban legends worldwide, adapted into Ireland.
